I like people who are powerful, confident, and fearless. Balmain is about an attitude. I think if Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were alive, they would definitely be part of the Balmain crew.

I think fashion is fashion: Sometimes you dress people that you don't know, and sometimes you dress people that you actually know.

It's amazing to see there aren't boundaries around gender. My menswear business has changed over the years as far as what men are daring to wear. And women, too. Men wanted to look tough, but now they realize you don't have to look like your granddad or dad. You can show a more feminine side.

It's really sad to me that we even have to talk about diversity in the fashion world today. That I would love to change. Diversity should be normal.

You're taught that you need to please magazines, to please the fashion elite, and that if you do everything the right way, everyone is going to love you. But I decided not to follow some of the rules. My girls from the runway were not just models - they were soldiers. They helped me bring my ideas to life. I was talking about sexiness, about diversity, about different shapes of bodies. I was following my instincts and learning that it would not please the fashion elite. And I think this is the real luxury, to be free to express yourself. Freedom is luxury to me.

When you become controversial, when you want to promote new ideas, you need to be the face of it and not be scared.

I don't see a difference between a biological family and an adoptive one. I think the difference is more in the eyes of others around you, who might judge because you're not the same skin color as your parents.